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Friday, July 24, 2015

I think this is everyone's worst nightmare

This letter is heartbreaking. It so much reminds me of the Sandra Bland incident. I know the officer he speaks of here and after doing this for much of his career in Coconut Grove, he is finally being taken from the district on July 30 and being moved to some unlucky neighborhood. I have had run-ins with this same cop, and just yesterday, a friend told me how he almost man handled her because of the same three parking spaces in front of The Bookstore. And she was legitimately using it for loading and unloading for a business. This was at the same time as the car on Virginia Street was almost car jacked.

One day I was walking by and he was talking to a friend, while doing his favorite thing, ticketing a car. I made a remark, just to make small talk, the officer didn't like it and I feared that something would happen and if my friend wasn't present and a community leader in Miami, I may have ended up in jail. The look he gave me made a chill run up my spine.

I know most of the local police, they are all the complete opposite of this guy. They are part of the community, friendly, helpful and honest people. I always stop and talk with them when I see them in the village. I'm not sure how this one cop got mixed in with our NRO's and others in the Grove, but it is good to hear that he will be gone soon.

The letter is anonymous because the writer is afraid it may hurt his court case if he signs it. But he did give me permission to add his name if I felt it was needed. I don't think it is.

How would you feel, if you were a resident of Coconut Grove, or any other city, village or state, handicapped, senior citizen, not having any traffic violation for the last five to ten years, and never been arrested in your life?

Unfortunately it happened to me, this July, at 9:50 am. I drove to the Bookstore, on Florida Avenue, a policemen was there and I tried to call his attention since I wanted to asked him to please allow me to park in one of the three parking spots available for loading, I just wanted to buy the newspaperand was going to quicklyleave. I had asked to park there because, I just had a hip replacement (three weeks prior to the arrest) and it was very difficult for me to walk, and the nearest available parking to the Bookstore was these three parking for loading.

The sequence of the events go like this, I called the police to ask for permission to park there, he did not hear or did not want to hear what I hadto say, and he said I must move, I tried to talk to him, and he said he will write me a ticket and I left. Since he was writing the ticket I went around the block and returned knowing I should probably go back, I did not want to be accused of abandoning the scene, and I asked the officer, did you write me aticket? He said yes, and so asked for my copy,and I said to him, “Well if you gave me the ticket I should be able to park for a minute or two, since it is very difficult for me to walk, because I just had an operation," so for trying a second time, I was arrested for not obeying a police order.

In a matter of a seconds, I lost all my rights, the officer handcuffed me, took all my belongings, wallet, cash, phone and keys and he put me in the back of his car, a sergeant arrivedminutes later and I spoke to him, I indicated that in my wallet was a card that proved I had a hip replacement done on June 15, 2015, and that I am handicapped but he refuse to look at it, I asked him if he could ask someone at the Bookstore to move the car and the answer was no. They toweded the car which cost me an additional $187.00.

The way to jail was a bumpy ride, it took several hours, first they took me to the Miami Police Departmentto do the paper work, I was then taken to a Police Center where there were six other people arrested, throughout this entiretime I was handcuffed, and around 4 pm they took me to jail, where I was processed again, they took my blood pressure, a picture, finger print, and I was interviewed, I think by a paramedic. He asked me at the end what had happened, and his comment was “Bad luck, you got a 'bad officer.' "

There perhaps were 100 people arrested for all type of felonies, at that time, I was able to call my wife around 5 pm, and let her know where I had been the whole day, I asked her to come to prison with $500 for a bond. I was released a little after 2 am. As a resultI was arrested and in prison for approximately 16 hours for not obeying a police that never wanted to understand I was simply asking for a favor, since I am a handicapped.

The Miami Police Department core values are:

1. - Integrity and ethical behavior at all times.

2. - Respect for the rules of law and the dignity of all human beings

3. - Acceptance of full responsibility and accountability for our actions.

Based on the Miami Police Department Core Values, I believe this is an abuse of authority, I never should have been arrested, but the officer refused to believe what I was telling him, and he refused to see the card I had in my wallet that proved I had a complete hip replacement recently. From one minute to the next, I was a prisoner, because this officer was not willing to help, or did not have the capacity to discern that I was not disobeying, but asking for help. One of the Core Values of the Miami Police is to have compassion.

I believe the majority of the police force is professional, and able, and willing to understand and work with the community, as well asunderstand and work within The Miami Police Department Core Values. Their motto to Serve and Protect and the fact that they respond to people in distress via 911 always provided me the comfort that my family was safe even when I was half way around the world, but perhaps there are some officers that are not professional with whom havea tremendous amount of power, and whocan affect your life significantly.

We need a professional police force; I would like to see that officer like the one I had to deal with, be dismissed or retrained, because I think he is not able to understand, or not willing to work within the framework of the Police Department Core Values.

I called my three children and I told them aboutmy experience. I advised them, if a police officer stops you, don't take a chance, regardless if you are right, just say, yes officer, wait for whatever he has to do, and say, thank you, and go!

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22 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's horrible and must have been a terrible experience. That could have happened to anybody and we've all done the same thing. I've parked in the same spot to run into the liquor store a couple of times, but luckily nothing happened.

Story seems pretty one sided. I'm sure there is more to this escalation that appears here. People are so entitled these days. Sorry, the spots are not for handicapped folks and you can't always get a "favor" when you want your way. Rules are rules.

Imagine, really imagine being a cop, yester-year, today, whenever. I've been hospitalized four times by uniformed Miami Police Officers, HOSPITALIZED, with loss of hearing right ear, two broken ribs, bruises, black eyes, etc. Guess what, after all is said and done, it was my fault! And on about 3/4 occasions, while doing nothing that was the business of uniformed officers I was similarly confronted and held my ground and was able to control the situation in my favor. Many cops on the front lines are trained to make life and death decisions in an instance, PLUS, they must maintain law and order. I'm now 72, and have my own normal age problems and as the anon above noted entitlements are running a muck. How many people have each of your readers have seen a perfectly healthy person park in a disabled spot and walk about normally, no wheel chair, would't you love to have the power and authority to reach into that vehicle and pull out that blue permit? Sure there's bad cops, bad whites, blacks, Hispanics and a few Orientals. In order to maintain law and order you better listen to uniformed officers and not just because that is THE LAW. Just last night the police responded to a call in a theater rapidly as a man killed 3 and wounded 9 and when he saw the COPS hell killed himself. The word is out from ISIS to kill uniformed police officers and military personnel! Jobie Steppe

The big problem in this story is that it was not "one bad cop" as suggested. The writer tells of a sergeant coming onto the scene and speaking with him. I would like to hear from and about this supervising officer, who at that point had a duty to look at what was happening, and take control. That supervising officer is just as much at fault if this was an improper arrest.

None of it is surprising tho. 1/4 of Miami's police force are felons who just have not been convicted yet.

I have his arrest on video and the abuse and arrest of another guy that was waiting for the supervisor that this gentleman speaks of in the beginning of his story... I have other videos of this cop breaking the law atleast (6) to catch citizens rolling a stop sign on the corner of mary street and grand ave!! The same day after he arrested this gentleman and my subcontractor and put them on the back of his car together I caught this cop run the stop sign on the corner of mary st. and florida ave! I've asked this cop twice before on camera for a name and badge number he smiles and speeds off !!! Again I have videos and more good stories of his abuse of power!! if anyone cares to see I will provide !! Today he actually started to record me record him lol. This cop needs to be fired !!! Dandm_fun@yahoo.com trust me when I say this cop wants me bad !!!

Tom, I understand what you're saying in your example as well. I made small talk with a small cop and he was very rude. He was like"....a tax paying slave wants to talk to me...his master...ha, I think not."

If I can find enough people who have enough Courage to stand up to these legalized mafia thug enforcers, I would love to break up their control. Nothing else (body cams, dash cams, citizen review boards) have worked yet.

Maybe ban police unions. Maybe equal punishments that citizens receive. Such as if I cop uses excessive force and beats up someone unjustly, the cops gets beaten. If a cop trumps up charges on someone, the cop receives the same punishments that person would have received. This would make cops things twice before taking such actions.

Or get rid of police altogether. Let's spend our money voluntarily on private security that we want. And not forced to pay for (i.e. taxation) police security we may NOT want....

Dan D., and I'll support you on this. I've had enough of police abuse and so have a lot of people. Anything a cop can do, a private security guard can do! Except security guards are Voluntarily funded. Not this police state crap that most of us asked for.

You guys are in THE UNITED STATE OF AMERICA!And you have no idea of that honor and privilege. Sure, some cops are bad, but the percentages do not bear out your ignorant comments. If you have proof, real proof, don't JUST make comments on the GRAPE. take further action, stand your ground, kick ass and face up with dates, names and addresses. They, the cops came after me, but WE reasoned it out, me versa's them, sort of thing, guess what, we came to an understanding of right and wrong. So, again, name yourselves, name the cops, put your name to it, provide proof and kick ass, otherwise, F--K O-F. Jobie Steppe.

Industrial empires are built around taking your rights away and it starts with each arrest and compounds exponentially after your first arrest. Checkout the new Children's Courthouse in Miami a fourteen story $140 million complex, folks they are looking at our children to feed the growing incarceration industry. In Florida a little over $8,000 is spent annually on each public school students and a little over $18,000 is spent on each prisoner. There is a systemic incentive to raise future inmates, it simply creates more jobs and props up the employment rate.

Hi Jobie Steppe, I'm sorry the cops came after you. Although I don't know what your comment,"otherwise, F-K O-F," has to do with the topic. I agree with you that having evidence and facts are helpful.

And also what's helpful is understanding the situation philosophically. I think both approaches could be used in combination. Such as listing the logical problems with police force and backing it up with facts.

What I was saying is that ALL Cops are bad. Why? Because they are predicated on the notion that government has final say on security issues, i.e. no competition of services like private security. Second, that government theft, i.e. taxation, is legitimate. Which it isn't. Theft is wrong, whether by the state or citizens.

Joshua Hi, sincerely, don't feel sorry because after all is said and done it was my fault. And you're correct to infer f-_K o_f has nothing to do with the topic. It does appear to me if we subtract the concept of a professional police force, the military, CIA, etc., our borders would be open to attack, England in 1700, where average gun owners did gather to defend our territories with deadly force, German and Japanese subs off our coast, blowing up many of our coastal ships, 1900, a potential NAZI atomic bomb, jet engines and rockets, Russia and the cold war, to say the least about these past realities and The "Rise & Fall of Civilizations" by Arnold Toynbe, i.e., don't we need both the right to bear arms and also a force of men and women professionals, who are literally armed to the teeth, morning, noon & night, every second of every day to be on the front line until our National Guard and citizens can bring up the rear? And if not would we not be talking anarchy without these men and women professionals, both some bad and many good? Jobie Steppe

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